French Country Chicken

Chicken thighs with baby potatoes in a creamy garlic mushroom sauce

Tender chicken thighs and potatoes cooked in an Instant Pot with mushrooms, garlic, herbs, cream and Parmesan for a comforting one-pot dinner.

Servings 3

Prep 10 min

Cook 35 min

Total 45 min

Difficulty Easy

Niki's Notes

Based loosely on a Chicken Fricassée (but with added potatoes to save the hassle of cooking them separately), I have made this countless times and it never disappoints.
It is easy enough for a weekday dinner, but the creamy garlic mushroom sauce makes it feel special enough for a dinner party too.
Tender chicken thighs, buttery baby potatoes, mushrooms, herbs, cream and Parmesan all cook together in the Instant Pot, creating a rich, comforting meal with very little fuss.
Serve it with green beans or crusty bread for mopping up every last bit of sauce.

Ingredients

Main ingredients

5 Chicken thighs

500 g Baby potato (or larger potatoes cut into roughly 3cm chunks)

250 g Mushroom sliced

3 cloves Garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped

200 ml Chicken stock

100 ml Double cream (or use 100g cream cheese)

40 g Parmesan grated

1 tsp Dried thyme (or mixed herbs)

Salt (to taste)

Black pepper (to taste)

15 ml Oil or butter

Parsley chopped (for serving) - optional

Method

Cook the chicken and potatoes

Heat the pot Set the Instant Pot to Sauté, then add the oil or butter.

175°C (347°F) hob

Brown the chicken Season the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper. Brown them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, then transfer them to a plate.

Chicken, first side: 3 min
Chicken, second side: 3 min

Cook the mushrooms Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot and cook briefly until they start to soften. Stir in the garlic and dried thyme or mixed herbs, then cook for another 30 seconds.

Mushrooms: 2 min
Garlic and herbs: 30 sec

Deglaze the pot Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the base of the pot well to lift up any browned bits.

Add potatoes and chicken Add the potatoes to the pot, then sit the browned chicken thighs on top.

Pressure cook Lock the lid and cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes.

High pressure cooking: 10 min
115°C (239°F) hob

Release the pressure Leave the pot to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully release any remaining pressure.

Natural pressure release: 10 min

Remove the chicken and potatoes Lift out the chicken and potatoes and keep them warm while you finish the sauce.

Finish the sauce and serve

Make the creamy sauce Set the Instant Pot back to Sauté. Stir the double cream or cream cheese into the mushroom sauce, then add the Parmesan.

Thicken and season Simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and adjust with salt and black pepper.

Creamy mushroom sauce: 3 min

Return and serve Return the chicken and potatoes to the pot, spoon the creamy mushroom sauce over everything and finish with chopped parsley if using.

Recipe from https://thyme-with-niki.uk